Kingdom Hearts 3: United by Fate
by Godofthunder97
Summary: The worlds are finally at peace. The forces of Darkness and Organization XIII have been defeated and everyone can finally move on with their lives. Unfortunately things rarely work out that way as old enemies have returned and are wreaking havoc across the worlds. Now it's up to Sora and friends to save everything they know. Set right after KH2 and follows canon for the most part.
1. The Beginning at the End

**The Begining... at the End**

"It's... a message... from the king!"

Sora quickly pulled out the letter that had King Mickey's insignia on it and pulled it out of the bottle. He unfolded the paper as Kairi and Riku looked on. Sora and Riku had been sitting in their usual spot near the paopu tree looking out at the ocean when their friend Kairi ran up to them breathing heavily and a bottle in hand. As it turned out the bottle contained a letter from King Mickey himself.

"What's it say?"asked Kairi as she and Riku tried to read the message over their friend's shoulder, who did not acknowledge her question and simply began to read.

"Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi..."

* * *

King Mickey was troubled to say the least. The forces of darkness had just been defeated by Sora and company but yet some worlds were still plunged in darkness. Not to mention that he had just been given a visit by a somewhat unsettling visitor.

_The king was sitting in his office with his trusty pet Pluto sitting at his feet. He was going through some paperwork when Pluto started to bark, it wasn't an angry bark more like a bark a dog would make when someone familiar entered the room. Expecting to see Queen Minnie or Donald and Goofy he put down his papers and looked up but was quite shocked by what he saw. _

_Out of nowhere a figure wearing an Organization XIII cloak which covered his face appeared in front of Mickey's desk. Said mouse quickly jumped up and summoned his keyblade jumping into a defensive position. Pluto however just smiled at the figure and wagged his tail.  
_

_"Who are you? And how did you get in here?" asked the slightly startled king in his normal squeaky voice. The figure only put his hand up seemingly not intimidated by Mickey's keyblade.  
_

_"Who I am is not important at this moment. And as for how I got here... well you see I'm not really here." the figure said in an oddly familiar deep voice. Mickey on lt looked at him incredulously.  
_

_"I'm afraid you're the only one who can see me at this moment your majesty. I am projecting myself into your mind to deliver a very important message." Mickey dismissed his keyblade and crossed his little arms.  
_

_"Okay I'm all ears."  
_

_"Along with myself there are three other individuals who souls have been trapped for far too long now. 2 of them are trapped in the realm of darkness, one has lost his body, and the last..." he paused as if having trouble talking about the last person.  
_

_"... has lost his heart."  
_

_"How can I help?" asked a now focused King.  
_

_"There is nothing that you can do by yourself... the only one who can help them is the young keyblade wielder... Sora."  
_

_"Sora... I should have expected that, but how? And how can I help him?"  
_

_"All that I can tell you is that the secret to freeing us all lies within him. And how he can free us will be revealed at the appropriate time."  
_

_"I see."  
_

_"But he can't do it alone. You must assemble an army of sorts from allies from other worlds to combat the ever growing darkness."  
_

_"But wouldn't that be meddling in the affairs of other worlds?".  
_

_"I think it's too late to worry about that. You will need all the help you can get but be aware of this, sacrifices will be made, sacrifices that will never be able to be reversed. And I'm afraid Sora will never be the same because of it."_

_"How! What's going to happen to Sora!"_

_"I'm afraid I can't tell you. And there's nothing you'll be able to do to stop you won't be able to stop the darkness... not completely but you will be able to balance it."_

_"How!"_

_"You're an intelligent person your majesty, you should be able to figure it out... good luck."_

_"Wait what..." But it was too late, as suddenly as the figure appeared, he was gone._

After the figure visited him, Mickey visited Chip and Dale and told them to prepare a gummi ship to pick up Sora and his friends and to prep his own as he would have to do some visiting of his own.

Mickey closed his eyes for a minute and the opened his desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He sat silent for a moment before he picked the pen up and started to write.

"Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,

I hope you guys have enjoyed your peace and quiet because I'm afraid we're going to need your help once again. I have recently learned that the worlds are still plunged into darkness, and it's come to my attention that it's only a matter of time before the darkness consumes them completely. Now for safety reasons I can't tell you everything(you never know who may read this) but I will explain more to you three and everyone else when you arrive here. On that note in a couple of days a gummi ship will be sent to pick you up and bring you here to the castle. Once again I apologize and we are once again in your debt."

Mickey finished writing the letter and put his seal on it and placed it in a bottle. He then went out to find Donald and Goofy.

* * *

"... sincerely King Mickey." finished Sora as he looked up from the letter. The trio stood silent for a moment before Riku spoke up.

"What did he mean by ... and everyone else?" Sora shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows, Donald and Goofy maybe... what's important is that it seems we're going on another adventure." He then put his hands behind his head as he smiled.

"Looks like it." Riku smiled back. Kairi however stomped in front of her two male companions with a menacingly determined look on her face.

"You two bums better not think for one minute that you two are going to go on ANOTHER adventure and leave behind again. I am going on this adventure!" Her face soon turned red as her look didn't leave her face causing Sora and Riku to nervously scratch the back of their necks.

"Of course we're going to take you Kairi... hehe... what would make you think something crazy like that." Sora said with a nervous laugh.

Riku's face however soon turned serious as he turned to his two friends.

"We better train while we can though... and no offense Kairi but your combat skills could definitely improve." Kairi and Sora nodded at him both realizing that the silver-haired 16 year old was correct.

"Well then we better get to it."said Sora in his usually happy go lucky attitude. The poor boy had no idea what exactly he was going to face this time around.

* * *

**Yeah yeah I know it's kinda short not that great and not that original but hey it's the first chapter. This is also my first kingdom hearts story but I've been a fan of the game since it came out so I know my stuff... well at least for the most part. This is also un-beta'd but it'd sure be useful if anyone would be willing to beta it. Anyway be sure to review so I know what you liked and didn't like so I know how to improve. I have this story for the most part figured out I just have to fill in the holes so to speak. Oh and by the way if I don't get more than 3 reviews I tend not to update so REVIEW! Thank you.**


	2. A New Journey Begins

Meanwhile somewhere on a distant dark planet a figure clad in a black cloak with a hood that shrouded his face, walked through a dreary white castle filled with long winding halls. His quiet footfalls lead him into a small room that was occupied by seven other figures clad in identical cloaks. Two were leaning against the wall on one end, while on the other end of the room one figure leaned against the wall with his arms crossed while the other stood straight with his arms behind his arms behind his back. Finally at the center of the dark room was a throne which one person sat in and the last person stood next to.

"You're late." said the figure next to the throne in a cold irritated voice. The first figure shrugged his shoulders as he walked to the other side of the throne. "Eh, traffic was terrible." he said in a laid back gravelly voice. Once he settled into position everyone looked at the man in the chair as if waiting for him to speak. He was obviously their leader while the men to his right and left were his 2nd and 3rd in command.

"Welcome friends." their leader said in a very deep voice. "I have received word that the keyblade wielders will be embarking on a journey to balance the forces of light and darkness between the worlds. It is finally time for us to set our plan into motion." It was at that moment that the figure with his arms behind his back spoke. "No disrespect master... but what exactly is the plan?" he had a low voice with a slight British accent which was more gravelly then the first figure.

"Well it's quite simple actually, we will use the heartless for our own gain so that we can finally reach our goal, and to do that we must get rid of the light and replace it... with darkness."

This time one of the men leaning against the wall on the other side of the small room spoke up. "But how can we control the heartless without becoming overwhelmed by the darkness?"

"Quite simple... with puppets." And with a snap of his fingers a dark portal appeared and out came the unconscious forms of Maleficient and Pete. Everyone in the room slowly started to chuckle and then eventually the room fell into a maelstrom of low evil laughs. Unfortunately this was only just a small part of their master plan. It indeed will only get much, much worse.

* * *

The sun was shining bright on Destiny Islands as it once again was a beautiful summer day. The water was a sparkling blue while the sun shined making every object it hit look even brighter. One spot in particular was shining especially bright that morning. Partially because of its inhabitants. In the spot where the papou tree was located were 6 teenagers who frequented that island quite often. In fact they were really the only people to ever be on that island. At least that's what it felt like to them.

Sitting on the papou tree were the fifteen year old Kairi and Seplhie, and the now sixteen year old Tidus. While Selphie's looks didn't change much not taking in account her slightly taller stature, Tidus's appearance however, changed drastically in the span of a year. Not only did he have a major growth spurt making him just a little shorter than Riku but he also developed a deeper tan and his hair went from a dark brown to a light blonde. No longer did he look like a boy but he had developed into a strong young man. His maturity however did not change at all during a years time making him still very much a boy at heart.

The seventeen year old Wakka stood next to the tree and was a little taller than Riku, but his most distinguishable factor was the rather bulky muscles on his arms and chest. In fact if he wanted to he could probably pick up all five of his friends at once. His face also looked a little older making him appear more mature but like Tidus he was still a kid at heart. Lastly in the middle of the plateau like structure they were on stood Sora and Riku who were standing face to face in their normal everyday attire.

"You ready?" asked Riku in a somewhat mocking tone at his best friend. Sora smirked in response and summoned forth the Oblivion keyblade "I'm always ready... you ready to lose?" "Hmph" Riku smirked slightly himself as he summoned Way to Dawn and moved into his fighting stance.

"Not likely." Their four friends watched with interest aching to see who would this time between the two best friends. While it was true Sora and Riku would spar often on the islands as children, this was the first time their friends would be able to witness them do it with their keyblades instead of just wooden swords. When Sora, Riku, and Kairi returned to the islands they of course explained exactly what happened to them and where Sora and Riku had been for a year to their friends. To say they were shocked would be an understatement to say the least. But due to the fact that the three appeared out of nowhere with a walking mouse, duck, and dog-like thing they kept their minds open no matter how crazy their story sounded. And oh did it sound crazy.

Sora and Riku stared at each other while in their battle stances waiting for the other to make the first move. There was only about a day or so before the gummi ship would be arriving to take them Castle Disney and they wanted to get at least one more training session in before they would depart. They had already trained Kairi the best that they could teaching her the fire spell, and greatly helping her improve her combat skills. While she was till the weakest of the three she would be able to hold her own in battle.

"On three." said Riku not taking his eyes of his friend.

"One." said Sora.

"Two."

"Three!"

The two jumped at each other and their blades met in a loud clank. Riku retracted Way of Dawn and rapidly slashed at Sora who blocked him at every turn with the Oblivion. Riku jumped back and Sora ran at him with lightning speed slashing downward. Riku blocked it with his blade but fell to one knee due to the force. Sora jumped back a couple of inches before he charged swinging Oblivion horizontally. But the few seconds Sora took jumping back gave Riku the opportunity to recover. When Sora got close Riku jumped over his brown-haired friend using the athleticism he is known for landing on his feet behind him, and he himself charged swinging Way to Dawn. Sora luckily dodge rolled out of the way and the two were left in the same positions as when they started. After a 2 second breather they jumped back into battle while parrying each others blows perfectly.

"Wow..." stated Selphie in amazement. Tidus and Wakka both had shocked looks on their faces with their mouths wide open. Sora and Riku had always been the best two fighters on the islands but this was ridiculous. Selphie turned to her side and saw Kairi with a big wide smile on her face. "Who you rooting for Kairi?" The auburn haired girl turned to her friend and gave her a slightly smaller smile.

"Both of them of course." Tidus chuck;ed to himself as a Cheshire cat grin grew on his face. Kairi turned to him questioningly, damn her female super hearing. "What's so funny." Tidus turned to her and his grin grew slightly wider.

"Oh... well I was sure you would be rooting for Sora... hehe."

"And why would I do that?"

"Well you two are close and you clearly have the hots for him so it's only natural..."

"I DO NOT HAVE THE HOTS FOR SORA! We're just FRIENDS! Gosh a boy and a girl can be just friends Tidus!"

"Hehe easy there I'm only kidding... calm down... don't hurt me." Tidus put his hands up before cowering in fear from the fiery girl.

"Easy brah you swimming in hot water now." smiled Wakka as he watched Sora and Riku.

"Shut up Wakka." Sora and Riku were dead even as they locked blades and looked each other in the faces. "Want me to go easy on you so you can impress Kairi?" joked Riku while Sora blushed.

"What...no... why would I... shut up." The two jumped back and Sora slashed upward causing Riku to block causing his blade to recoil back from the force of the attack. Sora slashed forward but Riku ducked in a matrix like move. Riku kicked under Sora's legs knocking him off his feet. The silver-haired fighter finished the combination by pointing Way to Dawn underneath Sora's chin.

"Give up yet?" Sora responded by kicking Riku's legs knocking him off of his feet.

"Not likely." Sora said as he jumped back up to his feet. Riku soon followed and they were once again in their fighting stances. The two charged again and this time put so much force in their strikes they would come of the ground a little bit as they parried especially if they slashed upwards. They were about five inches off the ground when Riku spun around and hit Oblivion with the Way to Dawn knocking them both two slashed at each other three or four more times with the loud hiss of clanking metal resounding throughout the islands. Oblivion met Way to Dawn one last time causing an ear piercing whistle caused by the meeting of metal. The overall power of meeting attacks caused the two to jump back. The two looked at each other for a second while panting before they both fell to the ground from exhaustion resulting in two loud thuds.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka ran up to their friends to check on them."Hey you guys okay?" asked Selphie as both Sora and Riku sat up. "Yeah we're fine... so that's 3-2 for me Riku." Riku rolled his eyes at his friends who was grinning widely.

"Keep dreaming that was a tie and you know it." They all laughed at that while Tidus and Wakka helped up Sora and Riku. Soon after that they would be making their way home as the sun started to set making the sky a dark orange with a red tint. Marking the transformation of a beautiful summer day into a beautiful summer night.

* * *

The nest day it finally became time for the three keyblade wielders to embark on their journey to once again save the worlds from the forces of all left notes for their parents apologizing for leaving so soon but explained the circumstances and they could only hope that the adults would understand. The childhood friends stood at the docks with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie there to send them off and wish them luck.

"So when is the ship coming anyway?" asked Kairi looking towards her two male companions. Riku only shrugged at her question. "Ask Sora he's the one with the letter after all."

"It should be here any minute now." Sora put his right hand over his forehead as he looked out towards the ocean. "I mean it's been two days." As if on cue three beams of light shone down from the sky illuminating Sora, Riku, and Kairi while their friends looked on in amazement. "Well looks like it's time to go." said Sora a little sadly afraid of whether or not Destiny Islands will be there when they got back.

"Hey what's up with the long face, we'll be here waiting for you guys to come back." stated Tidus with a trademark grin.

"Yeah you guys go save the worlds again." chirped Selphie.

"Come back soon yah." Wakka wore the same smile he always wore while waving. But deep down he had a feeling that things wouldn't be the same when they got back. Sora, Kairi, and Riku all smiled at their friends saying their goodbyes right before they disappeared in a flash of light once again leaving Destiny Islands behind.

Once Sora rematerialized he blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to going from blinding bright light back to normal lighting. When his eyes did adjust he was greeted with a familiar sight. The light blue inside of a gummi ship was a welcome sight to the savior of the worlds two times over. He also noticed that there were now five chairs inside instead of just three. Riku and Kairi stood next to them and they themselves were rubbing their faces trying to adjust to the light. The sound of seat buckles being undone was heard as the three friends were greeted by two more familiar sights.

"Donald! Goofy!"

"SORA!"  
"SORA!"

The royal magician and captain of the king's guard ran to Sora and caught him in a bonecrushing hug. Who then quickly spun the two around before placing them back down. The three laughed for a minute while Kairi giggled herself and even Riku had a small smile on his face. Donald and Goofy soon moved away from Sora and turned towards Riku and Kairi.

"Why hello Kairi, Riku" said Goofy in his usual polite manner. Kairi waved at them while Riku just nodded his head. "So what does the king have to tell us anyway? And why are some the worlds still plunged in darkness?" asked Sora from behind the two walking animals. "Uh..." Donald and Goofy looked at each other nervously before turning back to the fifteen year old. "Gawrsh Sora, you better wait and ask the king cuz we're not allowed to tell you yet."

"What?!" Aw come on you gotta tell us!" slightly whined Sora while Kairi rolled her eyes and Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance and embarrassment. ""No way! You can wait and ask the king when we get to the castle! For once your going to follow the king's orders! Now everyone get in their seats it's time to go." said Donald with authority in his usual lisp like then ran up to the pilot's seat in the middle and jumped in but was soon knocked out of it by Sora who replaced him as pilot. Riku and Kairi then sat in the two seats next to Sora. Donald was seeing stars for a moment from the impact of the fall but soon shook his head and glared a hole through Sora's head. Realizing the human had a strength advantage over the small duck he begrudgingly walked over to the seat next to Kairi all the while mumbling ancient curses directed towards a certain keyblade wielder. The magician would not however sit down without the last word.

"To the Castle!"

* * *

**There it is my update. Originally it was going to be longer but I became tired and people wanted me to update and I wanted to update so here's my update. Hope it was okay and I'll try to update in a couple of days. I'd also like to thank anyone who reviewed and take this time to respond to them.**

Lion5589: Thank you for your kind words and I hope I updated soon enough.

emeraldsol: Thank you and I'll try!

TWI1LIGHTMAST3R: Thank you very much and I definitely will.

Terra: Thank you and while I can't tell you everything that will happen cause it will spoil the story but Lingering Will will be seen but not till the end and what happened to Zack will be explained later.

**Anyway thanks everyone for reviewing and I'll see you in a couple of days**


	3. Recruitment Process Part 1

"Man girls are so confusing." Sora was laying down on top of a small stiff cot that was in the backroom of the gummi ship that the king lent him. And while he was the only one on the ship(well the only human) that was on its way to the Olympus Coliseum, he decided to set the small red and black ship on autopilot. Which led him to where he was now, lying on a cot in a ship in deep space thinking about a certain red-headed female friend of his. And it all started back when his friends and himself arrived at the castle.

_"Kairi, Riku look! There it is!" Riku and Kairi leaned over to look out the window with Sora. They saw an impressive sized blue and white castle which looked like it would be easy to get lost in. But the two wouldn't know until they saw it for themselves._

_"Welcome to Castle Disney!" said Donald proudly as Sora maneuvered the Highwind into the Castle's gummi bay._

_"Now we can't show you around the castle yet because the king needs to see ya immediately. But I'm sure we can show you around later." said Goofy as he undid his seat belt and got out of his seat. _

_"Thanks Goofy, but let's go see the king first. Right guys." Sora said as he jumped out of his seat and stretched while looking over at Kairi and Riku who were doing the five then used the gummi ship transporter and materialized down in the gummi bay and were soon greeted by two very hyperactive chipmunks known throughout the castle as Chip and Dale._

_"Hi guys!" eagerly said Dale as he and his companion waved at Sora and friends who waved back.  
_

_"The king's waiting for you in his study." said Chip as he and Dale bounced happily. _

_"Have fun!" the two then scurried off back to their station._

_"Aw they're so cute." beamed Kairi as the two chipmunks scampered away. Riku just chuckled to himself while a sly look grew on Donald's face(the beak only made it look slyer) "_

_Yeah! Like me!" Donald laughed to himself in his usually raspy lisp like voice. _

_"Yeah sure Donald whatever helps you sleep at night." laughed Sora causing everyone else to laugh along with him. Donald even laughed too before realization dawned on him and he glared up at his best human friend. _

_"Hey!" _

_Everyone laughed again causing Donald to turn his back to them and started to tap his right foot. Sora just smiled his trademark smile at him. "Come on guys let's go see the king." The party then made their way out of the bay, into the castle garden( which Kairi thought was absolutely impressive) and headed towards the king's study. Inside the large study were several huge bookshelves were against the wall, the same walking broom with two pails of water that seemed to always be there, Pluto, Daisy, Queen Minnie, and sitting at his desk King Mickey._

_Pluto was the first to greet them as he pounced on Kairi and started to lick her whole face. _

_"Hahahaha... easy... down boy... hah... I missed you too." The two had developed a special bond when she was kidnapped by Axel. Pluto soon jumped up and greeted the rest of the newcomers. Once he was done being the welcome party Mickey, Minnie, and Daisy walked up to them and greeted them themselves. _

_"I'm glad you all got here safely and I welcome you all to my castle." said Mickey rather formally. Sora, Kairi, and Riku looked at each other before once again looking towards the king, and in a blink of an eye the three islanders scooped up the king in a group hug. _

_"Haha it's good to see you too your majesty." chuckled Sora as the three islanders spun around with the mouse still in their grasp._

_This alone caused Donald's and Goofy's jaws to drop in shock, while Daisy and Minnie just giggled and Pluto panted happily. Eventually Goofy started to chortle as well as he finally saw the humor in the situation. Soon after the three childhood friends lowered the wielder of the keyblade from the realm of darkness to the ground. "Aw shucks guys." laughed Mickey. Riku then leaned down to Mickey's level and smiled at him. _

_"It's been a while huh." Mickey nodded at him with a wide grin still on his face. He would however soon turn serious again. _

_"Come on everyone let's go take a little walk." The group relocated to the outside hallway and started to walk back to the garden. _

_"You have a wonderful garden your majesty." Kairi told Queen Minnie whom she was standing next to. _

_"Thank you it's one of my favorite places in the castle." said Minnie modestly. The group then ventured back into the garden and Mickey motioned them to sit on the grass._

_"So what's going on Mickey?" asked Riku as he sat on the grass next to Sora and Kairi. The two male keyblade wielders sat in a keyblade wielders sat in a comfortable position leaning back on their hands while Kairi crossed her legs under her. Goofy lazily laid back on the grass looking up at the sky. Donald however laid on his stomach putting his face(do ducks have faces?) on his hands. Minnie and Daisy sat elegantly in order to keep their dresses from getting dirty. Finally Mickey sat across from them and also sat with his legs crossed Indian style. _

_"Well you see I called you all here because I have some, well upsetting news." the king said slowly while his audience listened intently. "An unknown force is trying to plunge all the worlds into darkness, I don't know how, and I don't know if this will have anything to do with the heartless or Kingdom Hearts but I do know they are trying to destroy all things light." While this shocked the group no doubt this was far from everything Mickey had to say. "And I have reached the conclusion that we will have to get help from some of our friends from other worlds." this caused Goofy to shoot up from his relaxed position and look at the king. _

_"But your majesty! Wouldn't that be me-me-me-me..." _

_"Meddling!" Donald finished for his stumbling friend. _

_"Right." agreed Goofy nodding his head._

_"I understand your concerns Goofy but at this point we don't have a choice. I fear this is bigger then we all can comprehend." As usual Sora was the first to stand up and flashed his usual laid back grin. _

_"Well I trust the king, I mean he hasn't given us reason to do so otherwise. So tell me your majesty. Who are we gonna get help from anyway?" The king gave hims a small smile before he also stood up. _

_"I determined the best candidates based on your past adventures and mapped out prime planets and who will be going where." It was Riku's turn to stand up this time. _

_"Well what planets are we going to." Mickey waited till everyone was standing before he continued. _

_"Come on everyone let's go to the gummi bay and we'll get everything organized." __The group walked over to the gummi bay where the king led them to four gummi ships that were hooked to the ceiling of the bay, one of them being the Highwind. The other three were identical looking to the Highwind with the only exception being their color schemes. One was red and black, another was blue and black, and the final was a solid green._

_"Now since we're already pressed for time I've decided we're going to split up into groups. Riku and Goofy you'll be taking the "Protector" to Beast's Castles to try and enlist Beasts help." The "Protector" was the ship that was blue and black in design and seemed to feet Riku perfectly for some odd reason. "Kairi and Donald you're going to take the "Balamb" to Agrabah and try to recruit Aladdin." The "Balamb" was the ship that was a solid green and seemed the most neutral out of the four. But for some unexplainable reason Sora was disappointed that he wasn't going with Kairi to Agrabah. But that was stupid wasn't it? She was just his friend like anyone else, wasn't she? Ironically Kairi was having these exact same thoughts. "I'll be going to the Land of Dragons to get Mulan with the Highwind and you Sora will be taking the "Copeland" to the Olympus Coliseum to see if Hercules will be willing to help out." By process of elimination the "Copeland" was the red and black ship that Sora would be taking alone to the Coliseum a fact that puzzled the young keyblade warrior no doubt.  
_

_"And once we're all done we will meet at Port Royal to try to convince Jack Sparrow to help our cause." said Mickey as he walked under the Highwind. This prompted Donald to look away from the "Balamb" to look at the king questioningly.  
_

_"Uh your majesty, why do we all need to go to Port Royal if we're splitting up to go to other planets?"  
_

_"I figured Jack would need the most convincing" Mickey said with a smile._

_"Good call." said Sora as he looked up admiringly at the "Copeland". "But your majesty, why are you and I going alone?" Mickey once again smiled as Pluto walked up to his side.  
_

_"Oh, you see I'm going with Pluto and you're not going alone either."  
_

_Before Sora could further question the mouse he felt something small jump up on his shoulder. Upon further inspection the 15 year old found that it was no other than Jiminy cricket_.

_"Hello Sora." The boy smiled at the talking bug in response._

_"Hey Jiminy."  
_

_"Okay everyone we should all head out and remember to be careful guys. We don't know what we're dealing with." announced the King. Daisy then walked up to Donald who himself was standing under the "Balamb"._

_"Donald." Said duck turned to look at his partner.  
_

_"Yes Daisy?" She looked at him sweetly with her hands crossed over each other on top of her dress.  
_

_"Come back safe okay?"  
_

_"Aw..." Donald chuckled slightly.  
_

_"You worried about me Daisy?" Daisy nodded while still retaining the sweet look on her face.  
_

_"And if you don't come back in time for our date I'll make sure you don't walk for a week understand?" Donald squeaked(well as much as he could squeak with his lisp)  
_

_"Come back safe!"  
_

_As Daisy walked away Donald suddenly had a feeling that facing the forces of darkness would be a walk in the park compared to facing Daisy's wrath. Sora meanwhile stood under the "Copeland" admiring it's paint-job and structure unaware of the presence behind him. That was until he felt said presence tap the back of his shoulder lightly and he caught a whiff of a scent that smelled faintly like cherries and strawberries. When he turned around he was met with his dear childhood friend Kairi.  
_

_"Ka-Ka-Kari! Hey!" Sora stuttered obviously surprised by her sudden appearance even though he had just seen her a minute ago. She smiled sweetly at him which strangely made Sora's knees feel weak. Was he sick? He didn't think he was, no he was nervous. That's it! But about what? He didn't usually get nervous at the beginning of his adventures. His internal struggle was interrupted however when Kairi started to speak.  
_

_"Uh Sora..." Kairi herself was also nervous for reasons simply unexplainable. Sora was just her friend right? Her oldest dearest friend who had saved her life on many occasions. There was no reason for her to be nervous. Right? Wrong._

_"Uh Kai, you okay." She was snapped out of her daze by the source of her confusion whom she forgot was right in front of her. _

_"Oh sorry I got distracted." Saying no more Kairi reached into her back pocket and pulled out the wayfinder she made back at the islands over a year ago but still felt like it was just yesterday that she first made it out of Thalassa shells. She then handed over the charm and put it in Sora's hand who took it questioningly. "Keep it safe okay?" Kairi said addressing Sora's unspoken question. "And that way you'll be sure to make it back to me safely to give it back to me." She said a little quietly but still sounded sweet nonetheless. Even though he already heard her say something similar to him before he was still slightly shocked by his companion. And his brain flat out shut down when Kairi pressed her oh so soft lips to his right cheek. And while the contact only lasted for a few short seconds Sora stood motionless for what felt like forever.  
_

_After a minute Sora was yanked out of his trance when Kairi smiled at him and turned around to walk over to the "Balamb" all the while inwardly screaming at herself for her stupidity. He vaguely heard her some sort of goodbye to which he weakly waved. Soon after he himself turned around to walk back under the "Copeland" when he heard a small snicker. Following the sound he was met by the smirking face of his "best friend" Riku._

_"Get your head in the game. If you can get your mind of Kairi that is." laughed Riku as he stood next to Goofy under the "Protector" still wearing a smirk on his face. One thing for sure was that for Sora, this was going to be a very, very long journey. But he couldn't stop and ponder this for too long however as they all soon disappeared in a flash of light by Chip and Dale to only reappear in their ships to begin their next adventure.  
_

"You okay Sora?". Sora looked down from his spot on his cot to see Jiminy looking up at him from his spot on the ground. The fifteen year old boy swung his legs of the cot and then bent down to the ground to look at his traveling companion.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?" The cricket smiled as he jumped to his usual spot on the human's shoulder.

"No reason, I just thought you'd like to know that we're approaching the Coliseum." The boy nodded as stood and walked out of the back room to sit back in the pilot's chair and turn off the autopilot so he could land the small ship. He couldn't help but wonder though how everyone was doing.

* * *

Riku had, had better days that's for sure. He and Goofy had already made it to Beast's Castle by the time Sora was approaching the Coliseum since it was closer to Castle Disney. There was however one problem. Riku found the castle just a little bit unsettling, just a little. While Riku was by no means afraid of the dark and the castle was indeed rather dark that was not what was upsetting the sixteen year old. You see it wasn't the castle itself that made him nervous, it was what inside it.

You see he and the Beast weren't exactly the best of friends. In fact the only time they ever encountered each other was when they fought against one another back at what was then Hollow Bastion when Riku was working for Maleficient and Riku didn't think that the Beast was really the forgive and forget type of guy. He seemed like someone who would hold a grudge especially since Riku happened to beat him in their last fight. But Goofy was apparently an old friend of the Beast so maybe things wouldn't be that bad. At least he hoped.

"Hey Riku you okay?" hollered Goofy who was several feet in front of the teen. Riku had been so preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't even notice that he started to slow down and fall behind.

"Huh yeah I'm fine." Riku ran a little to keep up with Goofy until they were walking side by side.

"You sure. Ya don't look like it." They stopped at the two large doors that led inside the castle. Goofy noticed that the tall human looked at the door warily.

"Ya ready?" Riku looked towards the captain of the royal guard and nodded. The two then pushed the large doors open leading them into the castle. The main hall was rather gloomy and also rather empty minus a large purple carpet, a large set of stairs and some doors. They closed the two large doors they came through and started to look around for any sign of the Beast.

"The Beast shud be round here somewhere." Goofy mused out loud as the two snooped around the foyer.

"Maybe they went out or something." Riku stated as they walked towards the stairs.

"Or maybe not." Riku silently gulped as realization slowly hit him. Sora told him that the Beast was actually a human, and Goofy had addressed him as a "prince". So that could only mean...

"Yeah I remember you too." Riku braced himself for the worst expecting either a beat down or for him to state that he "doesn't trust Riku" or something along those lines. What came next however was definitely not what the silver-haired keyblade wielder expected.

"Welcome to my castle."

The Prince patted Riku's shoulder lightly with a miniscule smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. On the outside Riku kept a stoic face only looking slightly dazed while slowly turning his head to look at the Prince's hand. But on the inside Riku's insides felt like a pinball machine. Why was this man being so nice to him? Riku had a bitter battle with him about a year ago and tried to stop him from rescuing the love of his life. And he's INVITING him into his castle! Why?

"Uh listen don't take this the wrong way but... why are you doing this? I mean I helped Malefecient remember? And if I remember correctly we had a brutal one on one battle that we never finished. If I was you I'd be telling me to get out of my castle before I throw you out myself. So tell me... why?"

The Prince looked at the boy with a glint of sadness in his eyes but maintained the small smile he had at the corner of his lips. No it wasn't a look of sadness that covered his face, it was more like a look of pity. Similar to the looks Kairi, Mickey, and Ansem the Wise once gave him back when he took the form of Ansem the Seeker of Darkness. Needless to say Riku didn't like that look, nor did he want any of anyone's pity.

"I've learned to let go of the past and look towards the future." slowly spoke the Prince looking towards the top of the stairs at Belle who had just appeared waving at the three before walking into the ballroom. The Prince did not linger as he looked back at Riku. "I no longer hold grudges towards anyone."

Riku was taken aback his eyes widening slightly at the man's confession. Not just at the fact that he not only didn't hold a grudge against Riku(he was almost positive that he would have) but also at the fact that he didn't have a retort for the Prince. In fact he didn't have any remnant of an argument in him. Part of him had to agree with the older man, maybe he shouldn't dwell in the past and move on with his life. But the only question is where does he go from here then. Aside from the obvious stopping the forces of darkness but what about after that. His return to the island was so short he didn't think about what his plans were. He told Sora and Kairi he wanted to finish their raft but he had spent so much time trying to atone for his sins, could actually and honestly live a normal life.

"So what brings you two my castle anyway?" The Prince's gruff voice interrupted Riku's thoughts causing him to blink suddenly before he uncrossed his arms and started to rub the back of his neck nervously. Thankfully Goofy saved the dazed boy by answering the question of the hour.

"Well ya see Prince, apparently the forces of darkness are trying to plunge all the worlds into darkness again, and King Mickey wuz wondering if ya wanted to help us fight em." Riku silently thanked the captain for making the save since he was Riku was too confused to answer any question. The Prince nodded slowly as his sad smile disappeared and was replaced with a tiny frown.

"As much as I would like to help you and the others I have responsibilities here at the castle and I no longer possess the power of the Beast within me so I would be of no use to you I'm afraid." Riku and Goofy's faces fell slightly but they smiled nonetheless. They briefly waved goodbye to the Prince before they turned around and slowly made their way towards the exit.

"Hold on." Riku turned around to see the Prince walking up to him which what looked like a necklace in his hand. Once the Prince was in front of him he placed the item inside Riku's right hand. Riku slowly raised his hand and saw upon further inspection that it was actually a charm of sorts that had a drawing of a rose on the front.

"In it contains the power of the Beast. When my subjects and I were turned back into humans my rose turned into that." Riku looked down at the rose drawing at the front which confirmed his story. "The essence of the Beast lies within it dormant, I cannot use it for fear that I will be unable to control it, I believe you can control it and it may help you on your 's why I'm giving it to you." The Prince then turned around and started to walk up the stairs seemingly to join Belle. But not before saying one last thing to Riku.

"Use it wisely. And I hope you find your peace." And with that the Prince disappeared into the ballroom. Riku closed his hand into a fist with the charm in it before slowly nodding to himself before running off to catch up with Goofy. He would worry about his future later, right now he had to help his friends save the universe. He unfortunately failed to notice however the small neoshadow lurking in the corner of the room. He also failed to see it slip away to report to it's masters.

* * *

Sora walked through the doors to the Coliseum and was greeted by the familiar sight of the repaired Coliseum Gate that put him slightly at ease. There was something about the Olympus Coliseum that felt like a fourth home to Sora(Radiant Garden and Twilight Town where his second and third) and it always seem to put him at peace. Except when he's fighting in the Coliseum or fighting Hades and his monsters in the Underworld that is. Maybe it was the bright blue sky or just the memories Sora had of this planet from his past adventures but he never got tired of walking through those doors.

Jiminy was somewhere inside Sora's hood which was apparently very large on the inside since the cricket and his journal spent most of their adventures in there and Sora never felt a thing. When he was halfway to the door leading to the Arena entrance flew open and a familiar figure clad in brownish orange armor depending on the light stepped out. Hercules looked up and smiled brightly upon seeing Sora. The fifteen year old smiled back as he walked up the small set of stairs to greet his old friend.

"Sora! Didn't expect to see you back so soon, what brings you here and where's Donald and Goofy?" The two bumped their forearms together in what was a sort of greeting ritual between the two. Sora put both his arms behind his neck in his trademark relaxed position with his trademark smile on his face.

"Well you see Herc, there's some trouble coming and we could use some help." Hercules nodded before motioning towards the door to the Arena entrance and started to walk towards the door.

"Come on let's go talk about this inside, plus Phil and Meg will be happy to see you."

As Sora followed the hero inside he couldn't help but wonder what Kairi was doing at that moment. Why did he always find himself thinking about her at one point or another when they were apart. He did it during the first adventure because he was searching for her and trying to bring her back home, and he did it during the last adventure because he was focused on saving her from the Organization and was worried about whether or not he would make it back to her during his battle against Xemnas. But why was he thinking about her so much on this adventure, when he knew she was safe with Donald.

And how was he supposed to focus on defeating evil if he was always thinking about her and what she was doing? It would be very inconvenient if he was in the middle of a big battle and he started to think about Kairi. That could cause him to get hurt or worse. He would have to find a way to control his thoughts before all the serious fighting started. And Sora had a feeling that it would be sooner rather then later.

Oh well he'd worry about all that and any other details later. Right now he had to focus on the task at hand and try to convince Hercules to come with us and help them fight. He couldn't worry about things like girls yet, he had to focus. No matter how hard it would be to do that.

* * *

Ironically Kairi was also having problems concentrating but for slightly different reasons then Sora. While she too found herself thinking about the sandy-haired keyblade wielder quite often, the main reason she couldn't concentrate at that moment was because of the large well blue thing that was sitting next to her inside the _Balamb_.

Donald and Kairi had actually made it to Agrabah surprisingly quick compared to some of the others, and were already walking up to the palace while Sora was still lying on his were greeted by the recently married Aladdin and Jasmine at the front gate of the palace and the two were then invited inside where they could sit down and talk in one of the living areas. Introductions were made and the newlyweds were ecstatic to meet one of the friends Sora had spent so long looking for on his past journeys.

After some small chit chat Donald raised the issue of why they actually came to Agrabah. They informed the new prince and princess of how trouble was on the way and asked if Aladdin would agree to go with them to a few "far away" places. Unfortunately since Aladdin was now a prince he had certain responsibilities that he couldn't abandon. He did however know of someone who would happily fill that position. Kairi was sure she'd remember that moment for a long long time.

_"Really! Who!?" asked Donald as he got in Aladdin's face wondering who the former "street rat" could know that would be a suitable replacement for himself._

_"Easy Donald, don't worry it's someone you know." laughed Aladdin as he gently pushed the anxious duck off of him while shooting a bright smile._

_"Oh Genie."_

_"What!?"_

_Then all of a sudden a loud pop was heard and bluish purple smoke started to fill a part of the room and right before their eyes a large blue figure slowly emerged out of the smoke. Donald knew only one person who produced smoke like that whenever he appeared, it was the one and only Genie!_

_"Hey ohhhh!" Genie stretched greatly before he turned towards Aladdin completely unaware of Donald's and Kairi's presence._

_"You rang Al." Aladdin had a rather amused face(which was hard not to have when around Genie) and simply pointed towards the girl and duck that were sitting across from him and turned around lazily wondering what could be so important that Al called him but found his eyes actually popping out once he saw the newcomers. Kairi almost gagged upon seeing the eyes roll on the floor but was more disturbed by the fact that everyone acted like it was a normal occurence._

_Genie quickly picked his eyes off the ground(it took a little while since he couldn't see them and they kept rolling away whenever he got close) put them back in his eye sockets and swiftly scooped Donald up in a bone crushing hug whilst flying around the room._

_"Donald! Why it's been ages since I've seen you! Have you lost weight? Is that a new beak? Oh who cares! It's great to see you buddy!"._

_Genie who had his eyes closed as he embraced the duck opened them to see Kairi looking at him with a half confused, half amused look. The enigmatic blue being swiftly poofed away from Donald causing him to fall to the ground yelling with a loud resounding thud. Before she could blink Genie poofed right next to her causing her to have a minor heart attack in the process._

_"Hi i'm Genie and that's with two e's and one g, my friends call me Gene. Well actually no they don't, but anyway I'm a friend Donald's. And you are?" said Genie taking the form of Robin Williams while rapidly shaking Kairi's hand causing her arm to flail comically._

_"I'm Kairi...haha..I'm a friend...haha... of Sora's." she laughed. Once he heard Sora's name a smile grew wider as he took the flannelled form of Al Borland from Home Improvement and scooped her and Donald back up into a huge bear hug._

_"No kidding, well any friend of Sora's is a friend of mine."_

_"Ahem... Genie."_

_Genie's ears went up upon hearing Aladdin's voice and quickly dropped Donald back on the ground while gently placing Kairi on her feet. He then turned back into his normal form and hovered towards the prince of Agrabah._

_"Yes Al?"_

_"I want you to go with Kairi and Donald to go help Sora okay? They're going to need your help."_

_"Of course Al just let me at the guys trying to hurt our friends why I'll...I'll... say can I bring Iago and Carpet with I might get bored." Said red bird jerked up suddenly from his lazy position on a nearby balcony when he heard the big palooka who has ruined a many a relaxed days for Iago. This had the possibility of being the worst yet._

_"Wait what am I thinking, Aladdin would never force me to go on such a potentially dangerous journey like this. I'm overreacting everything's gonna work out fine." Iago thought while laying back comfortably._

_"Sure Genie you can bring them with, I don't see a problem with that."laughed Aladdin before looking at Donald and Kairi. "That is if it's okay with you guy."_

_"Hold on! Wait just one minute!" Iago frantically flew in front of Aladdin's face aggressively flapping his wings to keep him off the ground._

_"Why do I have to go?! I mean I'm no use to them, I should just stay here in the palace."_

_"Oh now don't sell yourself short featherhead. Why someone needs to provide comic relief." said Genie trying to cheer the red bird up while patting him on his head._

_"Gee thanks. Come on Al! You're not just gonna let him kidnap me against my will are you?" pleaded Iago as he grabbed onto Aladdin's collar._

_"Normally I wouldn't but it might do you some good to get out of the place for a while and see some new places." reasoned Aladdin as the color drained from Iago's horrified face, in a last ditch effort he quickly flew over to Jasmine and grabbed at her shoulders._

_"Jasmine! Please! Don't make me go!" Jasmine gave him a smile with a hint of pity._

_"Sorry Iago I have to agree with Aladdin, you have been spending an awful lot of time in the palace."_

_"Yeah and you could also use the exercise by the looks of it my friend." chimed in Genie._

_"What is that supposed to mean! Are you calling me fat!?"_

_"Well you do look like a turkey I had for thanksgiving dinner once!"_

_"Hey that's not funny! That could have been my uncle!"_

_Kairi and Donald who had been joined by the Magic Carpet were watching these events unfold when Kairi remembered a question she wanted to ask as soon as Genie started to speak._

_"Are they always like this?" Kairi lowered her head to get closer to Donald's height so he could hear her better. The duck looked at her and nodded his head as they turned back to look at the scene that was developing._

_"Blue boy!"_

_"Pidgeon breath!"_

_"Freak!"_

_"I know you are but what am I"_

_Snap!_

_Genie and Iago stopped when a loud finger snap was heard and they saw Aladdin with his face in his hand._

_"Okay you guys definitely need to get out of the palace." He then turned towards Kairi and Donald again wearing a smile._

_"And you guys be safe okay? Tell Sora and Goofy I say hi and sorry I couldn't help. And you two..." Aladdin looked at Genie and Iago like a father would to two misbehaving children. "...behave yourselves. Got it?" They nodded timidly . Genie spun around dramatically and took a form with legs dressed up in an army general's outfit with a whistle in mouth._

_A loud high pitch squeal came from the whistle when Genie blew it so hard his hat flew off his head momentarily causing everyone in the room to cover their ears._

_"Attention! Company march!" Kairi,Donald,Carpet, and (reluctantly) Iago got behind Genie as they started to march out of the palace._

_"1,2!" yelled Genie._

_"3,4!" yelled back Donald._

_"1,2!"_

_"3,4!" _

_Aladdin and Jasmine waved at the four with smiles on their faces before going off into a different part of the palace to see if any "royal duties" needed to be done. The four then happily(well three of them were happy at least) marched out the palace gates to the "Balamb" and began their journey to Port Royal. _

Kairi was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a big blue hand lightly poke her arm. Genie had taken his normal form with legs but had made himself the size of a average man so he could sit in the chair next to her in the _Balamb._

"So tell me kid, what is your relationship with our little Sora hmm?" Genie said in an effeminate voice but smiled to show he was kidding at least a little bit. The girl flashed him a small smile before looking at Carpet who was lying on the ground and noticed that the carpet looked like he was looking at her. Iago was in the backroom sill sulking over the fact that he had to go on the journey in the first place instead of relaxing in the palace.

"Well Sora and I have been friends as long as I can remember really since I don't know how long. And you know, he always seems to be there for me, in fact he's even saved my life a couple times." said Kairi suddenly finding her shoes fascinating.

"Oh so he's sort of the hero to your damsel in distress eh?" Genie joked while wiggling his right eyebrow. Kairi's head shot up when she heard the words "damsel in distress".

"Now listen here you... I am not a damsel in distress! It's not my fault that Riku and Sora got all that practice fighting bad guys while I was either stuck on the islands or kidnapped!" If she had said that to someone like Sora or Riku they would have cowered in fear and would be profusely apologizing for their words. Genie however just flashed an amused smile.

"Ooh feisty, I like you. I always knew Sora had good taste...*sniff*... he makes me so proud." choked out Genie as he wiped away a few tears with a tissue and then blew his nose loudly.

"W-wait w-what do you mean by that?" Kairi wouldn't get her answer however when Donald's voice rang throughout the ship.

"Approaching Port Royal!".

* * *

**A/N: **Well there it is finally the long awaited third chapter of KH3 UBF. This came out way longer then I expected. And I divided it into two chapters. The gang was suppoused to go to Port Royal and Radiant Garden in this chapter but it would have took too long and I took long enough as it was so I just divided it. I'll try my best to update before school starts. Big thans to Coolgal342 for beta'ing my story. And I'd like to thank anyone who reviewed and or favorited or follow my story. But for those who didn't review I have one thing to say. REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any Final Fantasy and Disney affiliates. And I also don't own Robin Williams or Home Improvement.


	4. Author's Note

**Hey guys I'd just like to let anyone who's a fan of this story to know that it will probably be a while before I update this story with another chapter. Now I'm not abandoning this story nor am I currently suffering from writer's block. It's just that this particular story is takes up a lot of time and with school and my interests once again changing I just don't have the time right now. So maybe in a month or so I'll update. And maybe not. I mean I have two unfinished stories that have very big followings and I also want to write some new stuff. So once again I'm sorry and don't consider this story on hiatus, I'm just going to write some new stuff. And honestly this story didn't get quite the response review wise that I hoped it was, there was a lot of people who reviewed the first chapter and so far only two people have reviewed since then. And I thank those two readers(you know who you are) and I apologize most of all to them. Anyway I'm out and see ya soon! **


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